Since the first meeting, Hye In managed to make friends with Hoya. Although they were not in the same class, Hoya would still initiate a small talk whenever they meet each other. It was like they were friends who knew each other from the start. Actually, they did. Hoya found her weirdly familiar like someone he knew but he always shrugged off the thought eventually. After all, how can ‘ugly duckling ‘be the same person as the ‘swan’ he knew?

The friendship which Hye In had for Hoya slowly turned into a one sided love. She liked him. It was the different type as the one she had for Woo Hyun. This time, it was deeper. She couldn’t help but feel the world spinning around when he smiled and waved to her. She felt shy and embarrassed whenever he . Whenever she was around him, she felt her heart racing so fast as if it wanted to get to him. Sometimes, it went up to the extent where she gets really jealous when she saw Hoya talking to another girl.

The day when roses and chocolates were cleared off the shelves arrived. It was also the day dedicated to the couples in the world. Valentine’s was also the big day for some girls or guys who finally mustered up the courage to confess. Eventually, it was also the day where some hearts are crushed-completely. It was here. The most celebrated day of the year in High school-Valentine’s Day. It was also the big day for Hye In.

She decided to give Hoya her handmade cookies. To be exact, she didn’t intend to confess but she just wanted to do something to express her love. She decided to lie that it was for friendship when giving it to him. That was the plan. She kept the nicely wrapped handmade cookies in her bag as she set off for school. “How will he react? Will he be happy or will he just see it as another gift he received?” Hye In thought to herself as she walked to school.

As she entered the school, she spotted Hoya. Hye In felt her heart jump a little as she smiled to herself. Then, the smile on her face disappeared when she saw someone else before Hoya. It was Kim Yoo Jae, one of the queenkas in school. She was the pretty and nice type, totally the ideal kind that guys would like to date. “She is standing before Hoya on Valentine’s Day? Don’t tell me it is… confession?! NO! Crap. Is hoya going to agree?” Hye In swallowed her saliva as she watched on.

She made a silent prayer, hoping he would not agree to her. From afar, Hye In watched over the two and strained her ears to listen to their conversation. She heard faintly what they were saying.

“Hoya oppa, I… umm… kind of… like you. Will you please go out with me?” Yoo Jae asked as she swayed her body about slightly.

“I am sorry. I think you are a nice girl and you deserve to be with someone better. I am not suitable for you.” Hoya said apologetically to Yoo Jae.

“Did he just reject the famous and gorgeous Kim Yoo Jae?!” Hye In stared in shock and confusion. She thought he would agree. So god listened to her prayers after all. Yoo Jae covered and ran off in tears. Yet another poor soul got her heart crushed. Although Hye In felt bad for her, she still felt a little happy and relieved. Hoya scratched his head and turned around. He seemed to feel bad and guilty about the rejection.

“Hoya oppa!” Hye In called from behind and made her way to Hoya. Hoya waved and flashed his usual sunshine smile.  Hye In felt herself blush a little as she returned the smile. “Oppa. Why did you… reject Yoo Jae? You know… she is pretty, cute, smart, nice and most importantly, she likes you! So why did you…?” Hye In looked at Hoya who was walking beside her and asked. Hoya shrugged his shoulders as he thought to himself, “Because I am waiting for a certain someone.”

“Hye In, I will be going to class first. See you around. Bye!” Hoya waved and walked off. “Okay.Bye oppa!” Hye In managed a quick wave and said. As Hoya disappeared out of her sight, Hye In realised something. “Crap. I forgot to give him my cookies! Aish…” Hye In scolded herself. After a few seconds, Hye In thought of a plan. “Oh, it’s okay… I will wait for him by the lockers after school and pass them to him before he goes home!” After deciding, Hye In smiled in satisfaction and went into her class.

The day passed by quite quickly. Not much things happened apart from some teasing of couples going on during lessons. The queenkas and kingkas received loads of gifts and roses, as expected. It was always like that. As usual, Hye In is going home empty handed. She did not mind too much already. After all, she is used to it. Her main aim of the day was to get her cookies in the hands of Hoya. Skipping out of the classroom, Hye In stood by the lockers and waited for Hoya.

She imagined his delighted and happy expression when he received and ate her cookies. She felt blessed even just by imagining. Then, someone caught her attention. It was the famous Nam Woo Hyun sauntering through the crowd with a nerd boy carrying his gifts behind him. That jerk who was her EX-crush was bullying the poor guy again. Hye In decided to ignore so she looked away and continued to spot for Hoya. She did not want to miss him. Then, someone walked up to her. Hye In turned and saw Woo Hyun before her.

“What… what do you want?” Hye In asked.

“Oh. Nothing much. Just that I saw you holding onto some cookies and got a little curious. Are you serious about giving this away?” Woo Hyun asked as he took the bag of cookies from Hye In’s hands.

Hye In nodded a little as she looked away and avoided his gaze.

“Why not consider keeping it and eating it by yourself? Since I suppose you are hungry and probably tempted to eat it since the start of the day… Also, you wouldn’t want to spoil the receiver’s Valentine’s Day. Who would want to receive cookies from a fat, unwanted and ugly girl like you? No one wants a gift from a loner.” Woo Hyun said cruelly.

Hye In felt tears b in her eyes as those harsh words struck her. “No one wants a gift from a loner…” The last sentence repeated in Hye In’s mind. Woo Hyun held the cookies out in disgust and released. The bag of cookies fell through the air, past Hye In’s hands and onto the floor. The cookies were crushed and crumbled.

“Oops, sorry. A slip of hand.” Woo Hyun said and smirked. He then left with the nerd guy following behind him closely. Hye In was left behind standing there with his words replaying in her mind. Hye In squatted down. A tear fell from her eye as she bent over and reached for the cookies. With trembling hands, she picked up the cookies. It was all ruined. The perfectly heart-shaped cookies were crushed, just like her heart. All the hopes and efforts were destroyed within a second.

Hye in hugged the crumpled bag of cookies and stood up. At that same moment, she saw hoya leaving the school with his head phones on. He did not cast a side glance over to Hye In at all. She held onto the ruined cookies even tighter than before. She searched on the internet for many recipes before she finally succeeded yesterday. It was like the umpteenth batch of handmade cookies which she finally decided to give Hoya because it was getting too late. She spent god knows how many hours in the kitchen just to make the bag of cookies for hoya and everything was over now.

With tears streaming down her cheeks, Hye In walked on. She walked a few steps and started quickening her footsteps when she heard people commenting things like, “Oh, look. The fat girl is crying. She is rejected on Valentine’s?” She ran and ran until she ended up in a place where there was finally no one. It was the same place as before. After reaching there, she collapsed onto the bench and cried her heart out. Opening the bag of cookies in exasperation, Hye In grabbed and stuffed those broken cookies into .

 After some time, she finally stopped and the cookies dropped onto the floor. There were crumbs all over her face as she cried harder than before. “I am ridiculed. I am a joke. I am unwanted. I am fat. I am ugly. I will always be a loner. Hah. And I even thought that someday, someone will eventually fall for ugly duckling…” Hye In said as she laughed sarcastically at herself. She felt hurt. To her, it was because she believed miracles happen and therefore she was crushed again. If she did not harbour the hope that Hoya might appreciate her cookies, she would not have been humiliated once again.

As she looked up to the sky with tears rolling down her dirtied face she asked, “Why are you doing this to me? WHY?!” She felt that god was being unfair. She felt that if god wanted to create humans, he should have created them with all the same looks. Why must she be ugly and fat while others are slim and gorgeous?  The world is unfair or maybe it was never fair to her. That was what she felt at that point of time.

Then, miracle happened for the second time.

A sparkling pink jewel descended from above and fell beside her. Hye In stared hard at the pink matter shining brilliantly beside her. It was a hope sent from above? She didn’t know. She only knew that miracle happened. She reached her hands and ran her fingers over it. It had a different feel from the previous gem. The blue one was cooling and cold but this one was fiery and warm.

“Make a wish. This time it will last for three days.” The familiar voice said.

“I want to be the slim and pretty Hye In again.” She said to the pink gem.

She then looked down at her body. Like before, she became slim again. Her limbs were long and flawless, her tummy was gone and her double chin vanished. Getting up from the bench, Hye In walked to the same window panel from before. Looking at the reflection, she was finally convinced. Miracle had happened for the second time. With outstretched hands, she touched the reflection. She couldn’t believe it.

There was only one word that could describe her state- shock. But the next question arose. “How would she attend the three days two night camp as Park Hye In when she looked so different now?” Hye In pondered. She walked out of school with her mind still on it. Guys were gawking at her as she exited the school. Thankfully her parents were out on a trip to Jeju island so she could go home. Otherwise, she would probably be trapped outside. How could she go home in this form?

Hye In packed her camp bag and settled on her pink bed. Then, she thought of an idea! She called her form class teacher and told her that she would be sick and can’t attend. That was for the fat Park Hye In. She then went online to register for the camp as a public candidate. Amazingly, the school camp was open to outsiders too. It was a free and easy camp. That was how the school earned money. They charged those public members who joined the camp for fun and experience.

She registered under ‘Park Hye In’ and changed some of her particulars slightly before clicking on the ‘submit’ button. The camp was still enrolling people. It seemed like the school really didn’t let go of an opportunity to earn till the last minute. Slinging her bulky bag across her shoulder, Hye In left home in her casual attire. She wore a panda shirt which was oversized on her slim body and short pants with her belt tightening it.  She was ready for the adventure.

Hye In reported to the professor who she knew but couldn’t recognize her.

“Welcome people! You are our distinguished guests who applied to join our fun and lively school camp! Be rest assured that you will have fun and make your money worth! Please follow me to your bunks.” He announced.

Indeed, the rooms the people had paid for were so much better. The bed wasn’t those that hadn’t had their sheets changed for years. The bed was not the mouldy type the students always slept on. The participants from outside even had one dorm to themselves while the other students squeezed and shared the remaining rooms. It was discrimination between students and those who paid. “Practical school huh?” Hye In thought to herself as she placed her bag on the bed.  The professor went to each of the rooms and informed the participants, “Hey. This will be a free and easy camp with many activities going on simultaneously. You may go around and join any of the activities with the kids. Have fun!~”

Hye In looked herself in the mirror and tightened her hair tie. She will be Park Hye In, the pretty one for three days. As she left the room, she saw Hoya fooling around with his other guys friends. She took a deep breath and walked over. Hoya looked up as his eyes widened in surprise.

“You! It’s you?! Park Hye In?!” Hoya shouted as he grabbed onto her shoulders tightly. She was taken aback slightly by his overreaction. “You came back!” Hoya said and gave her a warm embrace. She felt herself melt in his arms. Her arms hung at the sides awkwardly as he released her. “Sorry, I was just too… excited.” He said awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. Hye In flashed him a sweet smile and replied, “It’s okay. I am… happy to see you too.”

THIS IS NOT THE END YET :D
I am splitting into two chapters for easy reading :) Please continue reading!!^^